Pasta Fagioli

Here's a tasty, yet simple recipe for a delicious soup! It has a zesty, fresh taste to it that really opens up your palate. It's hearty enough to serve as a meal on its own. Mike got the original recipe from allrecipes.com, and I think the only change we made to it was to use rotini pasta instead of the spinach pasta mentioned in the recipe. The below serves four.

Ingredients:

2 stalks celery, chopped

• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• salt to taste
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked spinach pasta (we used rotini)
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, with liquid

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, cook celery, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning, red pepper and salt until onion is translucent. Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes and tomato sauce, and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes. (Simmering a bit more is okay; that way all the veggies get nice and soft, especially the celery.)
2. Add pasta and cook 10 minutes, until pasta is tender.
3. Add undrained beans and mix well. Heat through. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.